Oxnard annual MLK Day march draws crowd and noise

CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR
Keynote speaker Ingrid Dineen-Wimberly, from left, sixth grader Rebeca Puga, from Curren School, and Dashae King. of Rio Mesa High School, get acquainted Monday at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center before the program started. Ventura County’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrated, “50 Years After the March on Washington — The Struggle Continues.”

Ventura County Star

It was a perfect day for a march, as hundreds of people gathered Monday morning in Oxnard's Plaza Park for the 28th annual Freedom March in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Unfortunately it was also the time a work crew decided to take down the colorful holiday garlands that deck the 120-foot Norfolk pine tree in the park using a giant crane with a cage for workers to use. The contractors were hired by the Downtown Oxnard Merchants Association.

The noise from the crane made it almost impossible to hear what the community leaders were saying at the ceremony marking the legacy of the slain civil rights leader, which included a speech by Oxnard Mayor Tim Flynn.

"If they were doing this an hour before or an hour later, it wouldn't be a problem," said Flynn, who said he didn't understand why crews chose the time of the annual MLK Day gathering and march to do their post-holiday chore. "I have no idea why they are here now. It wasn't my idea. It was a lack of coordination."

Bedford Pinkard, who has coordinated the march for years said he was pleased with the warm weather, but not with the crane. "We're going to have a good crowd this year. We've only had one cancellation in 28 years and that was because of the earthquake," he said.

A number of local politicians and officials were on hand for the march, including state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, who said it is important for those who were alive when King, who was assassinated on April 4 1968, was spreading his message of nonviolence to pass those ideals down to the next generation.

"Dr. King caused us to rise to a higher level. There are not many who remember him and what an inspiration he was," Jackson said.

Joshua Ugalino, 14, said he was marching with classmates from Santa Clara School on the national holiday set aside to honor the slain civil rights leader. "I'm here because of ‘I Have a Dream.' He's one of the biggest leaders to promote equality," Ugalino said.

About 500-plus people marched from Plaza Park to the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, singing "We Shall Overcome," as police and servicemen from the U.S. Navy provided traffic control.

Afterward the annual program, also sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Ventura County and the city of Oxnard, was presented in the theater, with tables set up for nonprofits, displays and crafts vendors in the other rooms of the Performing Arts complex.

This year's keynote speaker was historian Ingrid Dineen-Wimberly, who said her goal was to inspire the young people in the audience.

"Sometimes civil right leaders seem larger than life. We need to find the King within ourselves. It doesn't have to be so big. Do you pick up the phone to speak to a friend who is lonely? Do you bring dinner over to your neighbors just because? Martin Luther King Jr. said you don't have to have a college degree; your subject and verb don't have to match to be of service," Dineen-Wimberly said.

Michelle Michel of Oxnard said she came to the Martin Luther King Jr. event at the Performing Arts Center because her son Jeter Michel, 9, is a member of the Boys & Girls Club choir, which lent its voices to the MLK Celebration Choir. But, she said, she would have come anyway, if only to teach both her sons, including Caysen Michel, 4, about Martin Luther King Jr.

"Oxnard is such a diverse culture and we should understand each other's cultures. (My boys) know a lot about Mexican culture, but they don't know much about African American culture," Michel said.

LaRita Montgomery, who organizes the annual program at the Performing Arts Center, which includes scholar recognitions, debutantes and their escorts, speech contest winners, along with music and dance, said youth has always been a focus of the event.

"Every year we acknowledge our youth," said Montgomery, who noted that the college readiness workshop being offered after the program by the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. adds to the message of the day. "We want to encourage and enhance the lives and educations of our young people," Montgomery said.